What If
by Oceanera12
Summary: (Creative Writing Assignment. Please give it a chance. I know this idea is a little overused.) What if Shadow hadn't fallen in Sonic Adventure 2? What if someone else had died? How would Shadow react? AU one-shot of SA2 finale. (May continue at a later date.)
**Hi everybody. So I had to do a fan fiction for a Creative Writing Assignment and this is what I wrote. I may continue it at a much later date…but I don't know. Hope y'all enjoy it.**

 _It happened one year ago… I had been awakened by Dr. Eggman, a relative to my creator Professor Robotnik. He wanted the chaos emeralds...and I wanted revenge. So I played the part of the loyal servant and 'helped him' with his problems. In reality, I was only helping myself. I just laid in wait, until Eggman fell right into the trap._

 _Space Colony ARK was revealed to be a weapon of mass destruction against the Earth, but not in the way Eggman had planned._

 _But before the complete disaster, Sonic and his friends helped me remember what Maria really wanted. She never wanted this planet to die, but to live and thrive. I made a promise to her and I intended to keep it._

 _If only I had known that my promise would grow._

"Shadow!"

I turned around and glared at the hedgehog. The other 'Ultimate Life-form' had just vanished for no reason and I was a little confused on where it had gone. "Not now, Faker."

"You're the Faker, not me."

The red echidna growled over the com link, "Now is not the time you two."

The Doctor's voice came over the intercom, "Sonic, the monster is still alive. It's attached itself to the outside of the colony and is still pulling us towards Earth!"

 _Well, didn't Professor Robotnik think of everything…_

"Shadow!" Sonic motioned for me to follow him. The two of us walked up to where the powerless emeralds lay on the ground. I understood immediately.

"Let's do it."

I stepped forward to grab the emeralds, but Sonic grabbed my arm, halting me.

"Shadow, wait …"

"What hedgehog?" I growled. "We don't have time for this."

"This is going to be...tough. Just in case...something happens to me… Promise that you'll… Well… Just promise that you'll at least check on Tails. That's all I'm asking," Sonic trailed off.

My mind flashed back to Maria, _"Promise me Shadow… Please."_

I looked Sonic straight in the eyes, "I promise Sonic."

"Thanks," He stepped past me and gathered the emeralds. "This is going to be fun."

I rolled my eyes. The happy-go-lucky hedgehog was back.

The gems started glowing.

How do you describe absorbing pure chaos emeralds? It's not a pleasant experience, but it is at the same time. It isn't painful, but it is. In other words, it's _chaotic._

The whole battle was a blur. If someone asked me to describe what happened and how it happened, I honestly couldn't tell them. All I know is that at some point Sonic and I blew up the creature but the colony had gone too far into Earth's atmosphere.

"You're stopping right here!" Sonic put up his hands and seemed to activate some invisible wall between the colony and us. I followed his lead, but the weight was too great even with both of us giving it our all. Sonic and I pushed as hard as we could, but it was still falling. Half of the planet was minutes away from being blown apart or at least destroyed.

Over the com unit I could hear Sonic's friends calling encouragement, but I blocked it all out. Everything seemed to go completely silent.

A small crisp voice penetrated my thoughts, _"Those people need you Shadow!"_

 _Maria._

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled at me, bringing me back to the situation. His face showed how exhausted he felt, but was completely determined to finish the task. Yet as I looked closer, there was a glint of fear in his eyes. Very faint, but still there. I suddenly had a sense of dread, like something bad was about to happen. _Where had I seen that face before?_

"Shadow! We need to teleport it back into orbit!" Sonic shouted.

A nod was all I gave in acknowledgement. With a flick of the wrists, my inhibitor rings slid off. We needed all the energy we could get.

"Ready?" The Faker called.

I nodded again. **"Chaos-"**

" _Chaos-"_

" _ **Control!"**_

There was a large flash of light, bright as the noonday sun. The chaos emeralds appeared as Sonic and I started to lose the 'Super' form, as he liked to call it. The gems glowed slightly as they disappeared into orbit with streaks of color. When the light faded after several seconds, I could see Space Colony ARK back in orbit.

Part of me really wanted to just close my eyes and fall asleep… My levels were completely depleted and my mind was foggy from the exertion that was needed for such a massive Chaos Control. _It would just be so easy to just fall…_

I shook my head. No. I wasn't done yet. My inhibitor rings floated nearby. I caught one of them and put it back on.

 _There was something off…_

The other one floated by and I grabbed it.

 _Something that was missing…_

 _Something didn't connect right…_

My eyes wandered around the atmosphere, trying to focus on anything. There was nothing nearby.

The young fox started calling through the com links for Sonic.

I growled slightly when he started to shout. _Just answer the phone Sonic. He's making my head hurt like heck._

That's when it hit me. Sonic was nowhere near.

Almost frantically, my eyes scanned the space around me. Nothing.

A distant blue glimmer caught my eye. I leaned forward and caught hold of the single chaos emerald that remained floating in space, the others probably crashed on earth. My gold glow was almost completely gone, and I knew I had to leave or I'd be pulled into the atmosphere. In a last attempt to find the hedgehog I cupped my hands and called out, "SONIC!"

When no one answered I teleported onto the ARK.

Tails was now frantically calling for the hedgehog, but I knew it was no use. The hedgehog was gone.

Just like Maria, he was dead. I closed my eyes and pictured her last moments. Her last act of love had been to save. So scared, yet so determined… So familiar.

The hedgehog's final moments suddenly appeared in my mind. Same feelings, same reasons, same face.

A single tear streamed down my cheek. Two hero's deaths were now etched in my mind; never to be forgotten. Two people who had shown me a better way were now dead. Two promises I now had to keep. I would never break those promises.

Tails voice snapped me out of my trance. "SONIC! ANSWER ME!"

I hesitated then pulled out the com unit and tossed it on the floor. If Sonic was truly gone, then his friends needed to hear it first hand, not through a radio.

When the door slid open to the observation deck, I looked around at the people in the room. Rouge and Dr. Eggman were over by the windows, staring out at the stars and the planet below. Amy sat on the ground nearby, also looking out at space. Knuckles and Tails were near a computer console as the fox continued to call for his adopted brother.

At the sound of my footsteps, everyone looked over at me. No one spoke, no one breathed. All eyes were just fixed on my movements, trying to read my emotions. Amy and Tails looked behind me as if looking for any sign of blue hedgehog.

Painstakingly I walked to the fox. I gently placed the blue chaos emerald into his shaking hands. "I'm sorry," That was all that was needed to be said. I stepped away as the fox cradled the emerald as if it was the only thing in the world, tears streaming down his face. I wasn't sure what to do with him, but the Echidna solved my problem by putting his arms around him, attempting to comfort him.

Knuckles nodded his thanks for bringing the emerald. His eyes had lost some of the fierce and determined look I had grown used too. He slowly led the sobbing fox out of the room. The pink hedgehog followed them, tears streaming down her face. I could tell it would be a long time before I saw anything close to a smile from them again.

Rouge watched them leave and walked over to me, "They're glad you're alright, Shadow," she placed a hand on my shoulder, "But..."

"I know Rouge. I didn't see it coming either."

She smiled at me. "I'm glad we didn't lose you too. See you around, Shadow." The bat left without a sound.

Now only The Doctor and I remained. He hadn't moved from the window since the news had been delivered. After a brief hesitation, I joined him. We stared at Earth in silence.

Eggman didn't speak for a moment, but then he asked, "Is he really gone?"

I just nodded.

"Mm…" He stood there for a few more minutes then turned to go without another word. I followed him with my eyes. Just before he reached the door, I finally spoke. "Don't think it's going to be easy now, Doctor."

Eggman paused and turned around, a question on his face.

"You still have to deal with me."

Eggman gave a grim smile. "I look forward to it." He was gone only seconds later.

Not sure how long I stood at the window, just staring out at the Earth. My thoughts enveloped me as I tried to find some form of comfort.

" _Promise me...that you'll...help people."_

" _Promise me that… Well… Just promise that you'll at least check on Tails. That's all I'm asking."_

Why? Of all the people in the cursed world, why me? Maria had died protecting me. Sonic had perished protecting the planet. Both were cheerful and kind. Both had many people who cared about their safety and well-being. Who did I have? Maria was gone. I had respected the Faker. Why hadn't I been the one to get shot? Why was I the one staring down at the peaceful Earth?

All of these thoughts flowed through my mind.

The sun appeared from behind the planet, almost like a sunrise, illuminating the ARK with a cheerful yellow light.

Maria had always loved the pictures of the sunsets. Repeatedly, she had told me that sunrises represented the new day. The new beginning.

Was this a new beginning to my life? I had done many terrible things when chasing revenge for Maria's death. But now…

Two promises: the first one is to help people on Earth. The second is a mystery. Sonic wanted to ask more of me, but had simply changed it to check on his little brother. It was my fault both of them had died so it was my responsibility to keep those promises, and then some.

I allowed a small smile and turned to go.

As the doors opened and I stepped out, I turned around and looked around at the large room. A lot of memories of mine were born in the room. In fact this is where Maria had said goodbye to me.

I gave another smile, "Sayonara...Sonic the Hedgehog."

The doors closed, leaving me utterly, and completely alone.

 **Can't say I completely loved how this turned out, but I thought it was pretty good. Hope you liked it and thanks for reading.**

 **If you like my writing then please check out my current story, 'Miles from Home.' Have a good day!**


End file.
